Why do Brazilians, from generation to generation, have so many good players? There are many reasons, from geographic location to social conditions.

But then, what does this have to do with, for example, players from England, France or Germany? They have a lot of great players too and a very different geographic location or social conditions...

The answer is, of course, simple - all of them play a lot of soccer...

Many of us have a misunderstanding related to soccer players and their talent for the game. Probably the most famous one is related to "natural touch".

When people notice a young player on a field that has good technical skills, they immediately make the conclusion that the player is a "natural", with obvious "enormous talent", without realizing that the player maybe works with a ball a lot over the week, every week...

Nobody is BORN with superb skills, you have to WORK with the ball a lot in order to master them. "Natural touch" is often just better than average coordination combined with lots of work with the ball.

So, to become a master of this game, a young player has to work with the ball... a lot. Your child, or any other child, needs to have some natural ability, like speed or stamina, in order to be successful in soccer, but skills will come only after lots of practice.

Once or twice per week for a practice, for about an hour or so, for most kids is not enough...

The best way to learn soccer as a game is in a team environment. However, lack of skills can make some kids bored and can essentially discourage them for the game. That shouldn't happen.

That's why some additional work with the ball at home is beneficial, especially if it's fun and involves the parent too.